Bartolomeo di Malapietra
Son of Viscount Innocenti di Malapietra of Sirecchia
Earth Elementalist of the Third Circle
Member of the Architects' Cadre
AC 1014
"I would wish nothing more than to spend my days in my private study, reading a massive tome of magic or studying the intricacies of a flawless crystal from the Elemental Plane of Earth. But the heavy burden of ruling will fall on my shoulders one day, and when that day comes, I must be prepared."
Appearance
Bartolomeo di Malapietra is in his mid-twenties, has raven-black hair and chestnut eyes. He looks a lot like his father, and he is slightly plump too, but his well cut clothes tend to hide it. He shaves himself regularly, and he is always well-groomed.
His clothes are never showy, but always of impeccable tailoring. (His tailor is none other than Argene de la Majalonga Nivea.) Bartolomeo never has the richest attire at a party, but his style of dressing is consistent. He will never be seen him wearing commoners' garb or even a laboratory suit.
Background
Bartolomeo is the first son of Principe Innocenti and Signora Letizia di Malapietra. Before AC 1006, he was to be the heir to the title of Prince of Caurenze, but when the Principality was destroyed by the Great Meteor, he found himself the heir of a heap of ruins.
When Bartolomeo was young, he was already planning the death of Prince Innocenti in order to take his place. But when Bartolomeo finally graduated from the Great School of Magic, he recognized that becoming the Prince at that time would have left him exposed to the plots of his uncle Signor Agostino and aunt Signorina Lucrecia. Even today, it would only be too easy for his death to be disguised as an accident or an attack by the wraiths and monsters lurking in the haunted ruins of Caurenze.
Being a talented wizard, and one with both a broad knowledge and an unusual artistic flair, it wasn't difficult for Bartolomeo to win an assistantship at the Great School, where he is biding his time while he builds up his network of allies and supporters for the time when he will reclaim the Principality.
Now that he is no longer an apprentice wizard, but a master of the Elemental Earth, he no longer fears his uncle and aunt, but he his still weary of his father's former allies, Griseo Fulvina, Visconte di Verazzano and Antonio di Tarento, Visconte di Castelbianco. He tried to learn something about them in the records of the Great School, but he could only find the logs of their final exams and nothing about they years they should have spent at the Great School. The idea that these two wizard might have learned their art from different sources besides the Great School and out of Bartolomeo's reach worries him; that is why Bartolomeo has chosen to stay within the protective walls of the Great School, and wait for the others to make the first move.
Personality & Quirks
Bartolomeo is a determined, serious-minded scholar, who is wise enough to keep both eyes open when dealing with the world outside the Great School. He does not like his relatives, but he is ready to ally with one of them to increase his chances of inheriting the Viscounty of Sirecchia and being named Prince of a reinstated Caurenze. He hates Griseo Fulvina, Antonio di Tarento and especially Harald of Haaskinz, because he thinks they should have supported Innocenti more when the Council of Princes decided to cancel the Principality of Caurenze.
Bartolomeo also hated his mother Letizia, not for betraying Innocenti, whom he doesn't like himself, but more for asking the help of Princess Juliana Vlaardoen of Bergdhoven. Bartolomeo believes that the Malapietras should solve their quarrels within the family, and not begging the help of strangers. For the same reason, he hates even more his sister Fiora, who is currently living in Bergdhoven.
Outside the political arena, Bartolomeo is a pleasant man, devoted to his magical research, but fully able to appreciate art, food, wines, women and all other pleasures of Glantrian social life.
Web of Intrigue
The whole web of intrigue of Bartolomeo stretches within the walls of the Great School and the rich salons of the more respectable famed circles of the Glantrian high society. One might well meet the young Caurenzan among the guests of Sire Charles d'Ambreville and his wife or at the main social events sponsored by the Great School, but you won't find him at the gaming houses of the villainous Sire Henri d'Ambreville nor at a decadent party held by Doņa Carnelia de Belcadiz.
Bartolomeo has a rather large following of young students at the Great School, and he has sponsored most aspiring Earth Elementalists of the last three or four years. He plans to take over the Secret Craft before Frau Hildegarde von Drachenfels, another high-ranking Earth Elementalist, will be able to confront Prince Innocenti, but he knows he is not yet powerful enough.
Bartolomeo is in high standing in the Architects' Cadre, though his activity in this field is only academic. (The only structures actually designed by Bartolomeo are the walls for the annual contest of the Great School.) His rank in the order his mostly due to his social status and academic accomplishments.
From his last journey to the Inner Planes, Bartolomeo brought back a familiar, a primitive kryst, which he named Gemma.
Style of Magic & Combat
Statistics: 14th-level earth elementalist, Earth Elementalist of the 3rd Circle; Str 14, Int 16, Wis 12, Dex 9, Con 15, Cha 14; AL C (D&D), LE (AD&D).
Languages: Thyatian (Caurenzan, Glantrian, and Aalbanese dialects), Sylaire.
Weapon Proficiencies: dagger, staff, boxing specialization.
Skills: artistic ability (architecture), sage knowledge (architecture), quick casting, reading/writing (Thyatian), research, sage knowledge (Inner Planes: Earth, Mineral), spellcraft, spell combination.
Bartolomeo is a powerful elementalist, and prefers spells which hurt his enemies through sharp mineral shards and spikes. He doesn't use crushing spells, like Innocenti's stony tentacles, because he would rather confuse his opponents with the light-reflecting effects of the gem-like surfaces he creates and then hit them with bolts of quasi-elemental matter or have them attacked by summoned elementals.
While Bartolomeo knows a lot of offensive spells, and has even developed several by himself, his combat experience is rather limited. He takes great pains in training himself at the Great School's facilities, but fighting against sparring partners and controlled monsters isn't enough to replace experience in true combat.
Also, Bartolomeo does not have a great experience of the foreign countries. The only place he knows well outside Glantri City is the border region between the Earth and Mineral Planes, where he has been thrice in the last four years, on three different research expeditions from the School.
At the Great School, Bartolomeo was known for his majestic wall of stone variants, and he was awarded the prize for the best wall for the school years of AC 1004 and AC 1005. After graduating, he remained at the school, winning the same prize in the graduate students category for three consecutive years, starting in AC 1007.
Since the AC 1008 academic year, he has been teaching as instructor of "Magic-Aided Design and Architecture" but he is currently looking for a better position at the school. He especially covets the position of Master of Planar Magic, as the present Master, Bernabie Thrum, is not a friend of Bartolomeo's.
He spends a lot of time researching the powers of the Secret Craft of Earth Elementalism, and he has even managed to reach the Third Circle without a trainer. Those who know him well are ready to bet he will attain the Fourth Circle in a few years, just as his father did in his youth.
"Ah, si! I am very proud of my dear nephew, a great scholar, and talented artist, and a master wizard in his own right. In fact, he has found his place in the Great School of Magic, and it would be in his best interest if he never ventured out of its walls..."
(A veiled threat from Lucrecia di Malapietra)
References:
Bartolomeo di Malapietra's Spells
Spells of the Secret Craft of Earth Elementalism
Author: Giampaolo Agosta